“Time on task” is less important for higher-level understanding and creativity

the nature of the task helps to determine the relationship between time and achievement. It turns out that more hours are least likely to produce better outcomes when understanding or creativity is involved. “How much is learned by rote is a direct function of time and effort,” acknowledges literacy expert Frank Smith. “But when the learning is meaningful we learn much faster. . . . Having to spend long periods of time in repetitive efforts to learn specific things is a sign that learning is not taking place, that we are not in a productive learning situation.”

Sure enough, researchers have found that when children are taught to read by focusing on the meaning of the text rather than primarily on phonetic skills, their learning does “not depend on amount of instructional time.” In math, too, even the new-and-improved concept of “engaged” [time on task] is directly correlated to achievement only if both the activities and the measure of achievement are focused on rote recall. By contrast, there is no “linear positive relationship for higher level mathematics activities, including mathematical applications and problem solving.”